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To get alerts when a government website posts or changes a notice, create a Distill.io monitor for the notice-listing page, select the notice area, set a check schedule and notification action, then review the first change records to confirm the monitor is tracking the right content. Use a cloud monitor if the page is accessible to Distill’s servers and you need checks while your device is off; use a local monitor if cloud checks fail or access differs by location.

Set up a Distill.io monitor for a notice page

  1. Open Distill’s web app and add a Web Page monitor. Enter the government page URL that displays the notices.
  2. Choose what to watch. Select Monitor Parts of Page and highlight the notice-listing area when possible. Choose Full Page if the notices cannot be isolated. A focused selection helps avoid alerts caused by unrelated page changes.
  3. Save the selection, then configure the monitor. In the monitor options, set a checking schedule and choose an alert action from those currently available for your monitor type and account. Distill documents email, SMS, push notifications and integrations, but the options available to you may vary.
  4. Choose cloud or local execution. Use the distinction below to decide how checks should run.
  5. Review the first checks and change history. Confirm the monitored area includes the notice title, date and link. If unrelated changes trigger alerts, refine the selection or exclude volatile elements such as counters and unrelated timestamps.

Choose cloud or local monitoring

A cloud monitor checks from Distill’s servers and can keep running when your computer is off. A local monitor checks through your browser or computer, so that device must be available for checks. Some websites block requests from cloud servers, and access can differ by location. If a cloud monitor does not work, check its log and try local monitoring rather than assuming the page had no update.

Consideration Cloud monitor Local monitor
Runs while your device is off Yes; checks run on Distill’s servers. No; the browser or computer must be available.
Site access May fail if the site blocks cloud requests. Can be preferable when access or location affects cloud checks.
Check frequency Distill’s documentation lists a 2-minute minimum for cloud checks on the Flexi plan. Distill’s current comparison lists a 5-second minimum for local checks.

Those intervals are service limits, not a guarantee that an agency publishes notices at that pace. Plan names and entitlements can change, so verify the current options in your account before choosing a schedule.

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Reduce missed notices and noisy alerts

Check the monitored content

After the first checks, inspect the change history. Make sure the selected area captures the parts that identify a notice, including its title, date and link. If the page loads its listing after the initial render, adjust the page-wait setting and check the result again. Remove or exclude changing content that is irrelevant to the notice itself.

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Use conditions carefully

Conditions filter changes after Distill detects them. For example, a keyword condition can alert only when added text contains a term. This may reduce noise, but a narrow keyword can hide notices that use different wording. Test the condition against actual changes before relying on it.

Check for a feed only if the agency provides one

An agency may offer an RSS feed, which can be monitored instead of—or alongside—the web page. The right option depends on the target site: confirm that it publishes a genuine feed rather than assuming one exists.

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Troubleshoot missing or noisy alerts

  • No alerts, but the page may have changed: Open the monitor’s log and change history. A failed check is different from a successful check that found no change.
  • Cloud checks fail: The site may block requests from Distill’s cloud servers, or access may differ by location. Try a local monitor and inspect its checks.
  • Alerts arrive for unrelated changes: Select only the notice-listing section, or exclude volatile elements that are not part of the notices.
  • A new notice is missing from alerts: Confirm that the selected area includes the listing, adjust the wait setting if content appears late, and review any conditions that might filter the notice wording.
  • Notifications do not arrive as expected: Check the actions offered for that monitor type and your current account, then verify the configured action in the monitor options.

Or skip the browser setup

If your goal is to capture a page rather than track it over time, ScreenshotNeo provides a screenshot API and MCP server for developers. One GET request can return an image or PDF. The example below saves a capture of a page; it does not create a recurring notice monitor.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://agency.gov/notices -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, popups and chat widgets before a shot; bot checks, blank pages and failed loads are not billed. Its MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Learn about ScreenshotNeo or sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month, with no card.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I rely on a Distill alert to prove an agency has not posted a notice?

No. Confirm that checks succeeded in the monitor log; a failed check does not establish that the page was unchanged.

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Will every government notice page work with a cloud monitor?

Not necessarily. The page may block cloud requests or behave differently by access location, so validate the selected monitor on the specific site.

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Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.